Trust me......I can kill anything. However, this year it is as if everything has suddenly clicked into place. I've decided never to grow cucumbers again as myself, my family and all of my friends are thoroughly sick of them.

Tomatillo on the other hand has been a major success.Such an easy plant. Simply start a couple from seed early in the year.Around the beginning of May, I transplanted them into a cold frame, slowly opening the lid to let them escape.They really didn't need any more help...they appear to thrive on neglect.

Now, I'm picking. Big, purple plum sized fruit.Delicious lightly grilled or fried, replacing the tomato in a Full English Breakfast.Super flavour, with a slight lemon tang.What a find.Trust me, order some seed for next year as it is such an easy, cooperative plant.You need at least two plants for pollination.....but two will probably be enough for a couple whose children have flown the nest.

I grew some about five years ago and from my few plants cropped enough to make a batch of quite tasty Mexican type sauce. I'd probably try them again if I had more growing spare veg space as it's nice to grow something different occasionally. I seem to recall mine too seemed to be a disappointing cropping failure and then very late on in the season all the fruit appeared. I don't know enough about growing them to know whether this was due to weather influence or this is their normal growing habit.

Has anybody ever seen them for sale in supermarkets? I don't think I have. Perhaps they could be the next food craze waiting to happen !

I've never tasted or tried to grow them. I didn't realise they were interchangeable for tomatoes in other things, just thought Mexican type stuff. Thanks for that insight & welcome to the forum by the way tattyjacket! Keep posting away & join in the serious & nonsense things we get up to.

Westi

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WestiAlways optimistic despite the challenges! Come on Mother Nature, this year you are just showing off!

Ah Fred! I posted the same when I had success with my blight resistant toms. Firstly you take the seeds into a jar and cover them with water & leave until you get a green blob thing on the top. Then you rinse and drain and the tomato membrane washes off the seeds, which you dry on paper towel. Now I did this and got very concerned that my seeds remained a bit soft for a bit. Then I was saved by either PP or Primrose (sorry if got the wrong person), who just puts her's into a bowl and swirls the water around every now & then. I did both in the end, and my soft seeds have hardened as well just slower to dry off. I think I'll ignore the green blob thing next time, much more pleasant to just swirl!

Westi

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WestiAlways optimistic despite the challenges! Come on Mother Nature, this year you are just showing off!

Fred, yes, just follow Westi's advice. I leave my seeds soaking between 24-48 hours, then drain off the water and most of the membrane before tipping the seeds out onto a double layer of kitchen paper towel . Spread this over a plate or saucer to dry for 48 hours. Just spread them about until they're mostly separated before they dry.I personally never try to remove the seeds from the kitchen towel which they tend to stick to . When the time comes, plant the seeds in your compost still stuck onto the kitchen tissue. Trust me, the paper will just dissolve in the damp compost and the seeds won't be affected. It's easier to store them like this than trying to separate them.

Dear All,I grew tomatilloes a few years ago and this is what I discovered.They don't get blight; a HUGE plus on my allotment siteThey grow a lot bigger than the books say and the plants can be brittle so plant somewhere out of the windThey need to be started fairly early and grown on as large as you can before planting out (5 " pot for me) to stand any chance of a decent crop. I don't usually get a frost before early November but others may need to fleece to get the fruit to edible size at the end of the year.They need staking to keep the fruit off the floor away from the slugsWhen they are ready to eat the husk needs to be full and slightly split and the fruit should come off the plant easilyIt is easier to tell when the purple variety is ready (the fruit goes purple when ripe - duh!)They don't like the cold as young plants and go purple as tomatoes do, but will tolerate a lot at the back end of the year They do best with a low nitrogen feed such as tomato or rose food rather than growmore or muckThey don't need as sunny a spot as tomatoes or peppers do, I had mine in a spot that was shaded after about 2pm and I still got a decent cropFeed and water as for tomatoes Off 10 plants I got several large carrier bags fullThey make dammed fine chutney! Use them in place of tomatoes where the fact that they are green as opposed to red does not matter.Regards Sally Wright

Ah, my mother in law has grown these this year. If the consensus is that you can keep the seeds for growing next year I could drop her a line and ask her to try and keep some seeds and I would happily share here?

Thanks for that very helpful information Sally. it might encourage a few of us to have a try with some next year. My only attempt at growing them involved the green variety. The purple ones sound interesting. Do they stay that colour when you cook them, or do them turn green like the purple climbing French beans?